No Bill – an indorsement by a grand jury on a bill of indictment, indicating “not found” or “not a true bill”; the party is then discharged without further answer

1. A grand jury‘s notation that insufficient evidence exists for an indictment on a criminal charge <the grand jury returned a no bill instead of the indictment the prosecutors expected>. <the grand jury no-billed three of the charges>. — no-bill, vb. [1]

“When the grand jury have heard the evidence, if they think it a groundless accusation, they used formerly to endorse on the back of the bill, “ignoramus,” or, we know nothing of it: intimating that, though the facts might possibly be true, that truth did not appear to them: but now they assert in English, more absolutely, ‘not a true bill:” and then the party is discharged without farther answer.“ [4]

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